GHOUL GUIDE: Haunted happenings abound no matter witch way you turn

Dana Barbuto The Patriot Ledger

Wednesday

Oct 25, 2017 at 12:12 PMOct 31, 2017 at 12:56 PM

Freakish ghouls, haunted houses and enchanted pumpkins are hiding behind every corner on the South Shore – and beyond – these days. Kids and adults, from the brave to the bashful, have their choice of fun or fright as the season creeps toward Halloween, Oct. 31.

TOUR DE CREEPY

On the popular Boston Ghosts and Gravestones tour, board the “Trolley of the Doomed” for stops at the Copp’s Hill Burying Ground in the North End and the Granary Burying Ground on Tremont Street. A 17th-century grave digger relays stories of the unfortunate souls he has encountered. The part-trolley ride, part-walking tour is an adventure through the dark side of Boston. You trace the steps of the Boston Strangler and visit famous cemeteries, listening to tales of who is buried there. Though the stories are pretty grave (get it?), the guides keep things lighthearted with jokes and bad puns. Tours depart at 7 p.m., 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. through Nov. 9; www.ghostsandgravestones.com.

Be careful of phantoms, though, if you take the Plymouth Night Tour. You’ll be led on a two-hour candlelight trek through Burial Hill and other spooky stops, including the Old North Street Tea and Curiosity Shop. You’ll also hear the story of Mother Crewe and the tragic things that happened to the family that she cursed, plus other old witch legends.

Each participant is given a hand-crafted tin lantern – a replica of ones that were used in the 17th century – to light the way through the dark alleys and burial grounds.

Diane Finn, historian, author, tour guide and founder of Colonial Lantern Tours of Plymouth, recently published the book “Witches Brew & Mother Crewe: Legends & True Tales of Old Plymouth.” She will be one of three guides leading a group of high school students on tonight’s cq tour.

Tours run nightly at 7 o’clock and take about two hours. For reservations, call 508-927-2146 or visit plymouthghosttours.com.

Point your broomstick toward Duxbury to join Duxbury Rural and Historical Society archivist and historian Carolyn Ravenscroft on a cemetery tour through the Myles Standish Burial Ground, which is said to be the oldest continuously maintained cemetery in America. It is the resting place of many of the Mayflower’s passengers, including John Alden, Priscilla Alden and Myles Standish. 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 28, Chestnut Street, Duxbury.

FRIGHT FILMS

If you like your movies to make you to shiver in fear and scream in terror, then October is your month. The “TerrorThon 2017” continues at the Somerville Theater, 55 Davis Square, with a double feature of the original “Frankenstein” and “Bride of Frankenstein” shown in 35 millimeter at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 27.

Just before the stroke of midnight on Saturday, Oct. 28 , horror hounds can also head over to the Coolidge Corner Theater for the Halloween Horror Marathon – 12 hours of zombies, demons, monsters and more, all on 35-millimeter film. Kicking off the marathon will be George A. Romero’s zombie classic, “Night of the Living Dead,” followed by Lucio Fulci’s gut-wrenching flesh-eater, “Zombie.” The other four titles are making like a mummy and being kept under wraps, per the theater’s film marathon rules.

Speaking of King, the film adaptation of his book “It” is a phenomenon, becoming the highest-grossing horror film in history. (It had earned upward of $320 million in its eighth week.) Locally you can follow the red balloon of Pennywise to the Patriot Cinemas in Hanover and Hingham Shipyard or to Showcase Cinemas in Randolph, Regal Kingston and AMC Braintree.

For a lighter scare, check out “Boo 2! A Madea Halloween,” in which Tyler Perry follows up his 2016 horror comedy with a fright romp set at a haunted campground.

And opening Friday after a seven-year hiatus is the latest entry in the “Saw” franchise. In “Jigsaw,” Weymouth-raised Tobin Bell reprises his role as the iconic killer of the film’s title.

Load up on toilet paper and rice and head over to the Somerville Theater for a Halloween screening of the “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” at 8 p.m. Oct. 31. The movie will be shown in 35 millimeter alongside a cast of actors who will be performing the action in sync with the movie. Also, showings take place the first Friday of every month at the Orpheum Theater in Foxboro. So be prepared to take a step to the left.

STILL NOT SCARED?

For a chilling scream spectacle, visit Barrett’s Haunted Mansion in Abington, where gruesome ghouls and creatures have for 26 years startled even the bravest souls. This year’s theme, is “Taking Fear to Another Level” – and they mean it. According to its web site, guests will “step in and witness the next level of fear with something twisted and evil and around every corner. Once the doors close, you’ll be screaming for a way out.”

Be warned, though, if you take a stroll outside the elaborately decorated mansion – it only looks like a desolate knoll. You might encounter a “roamer,” who’ll be more than thrilled to scare the pants off you. Barrett’s Haunted Mansion is at 1235 Bedford St. (Route 18), Abington. www.bhmansion.com.

There have been reports of mysterious voices and ghostly images infiltrating the USS Salem. Go ahead, we dare you to check it out for yourself. At Ghost Ship Harbor the floating frights feature attractions involving a fast-spreading plague, zombies, a little girl’s nightmares and a macabre food village. Ghoulish professional actors, intense costumes and props are designed to shock and frighten daring visitors. #sheerterror . Ghost Ship Harbor is at 551 South St., Quincy, ghost shipharbor.com.

You can also let your blood run cold at the first Real Estate Rocks Haunted House. Tours are 15 minutes and tell creepy stories of an asylum where depraved doctors performed illegal operations. A separate building called Haunted House Lite is for guests looking for a less terrifying experience. Admission is free, but donations will benefit the Salvation Army for Disaster Relief. 6 to 8 p.m., Sunday Oct. 29 at the Real Estate Rocks building, 290 Center St., Pembroke. 781-775-4670.

Fend your way through a maze of dark corridors inside an old brick factory, where you’ll roam 30 rooms of spooky special effects, animatronic monsters and creepy characters. It’s all waiting in Dracula’s Hideaway and Zombie Alley at the Factory of Terror, 33 Pearl St., Fall River, beginning at 7 o’clock each night through Oct. 31, factoryofterror.com.

NOT-SO-SCARY TREATS

If you’re afraid of things that go bump in the night, you might opt for the Jack-O’-Lantern Spectacular, the biggest, brightest pumpkin patch in New England. More than 5,000 ornately carved and illuminated jack-o’-lanterns – that’s about 150,000 pounds of pumpkin – are displayed on a three-acre woodland trail outside the Roger Williams Park Zoo in Providence. The jack-o’-lanterns are divided into themed areas, such as the pumpkin tree, where small carved pumpkins are strung on trees; and the “laughing place,” where hundreds of pumpkins with carved smiles illuminate the path, while Disney-esque laughter and music swells in the crisp, fall air. Other jack-o’-lanterns depict rock stars, movie legends, politicians and historical events. Through Nov. 5 at the Roger Williams Park Zoo, 1000 Elmwood Ave., Providence. rwpzoo.org.

Closer to home, you can walk nature trails lit by hundreds of jack-o’-lanterns at the 15th annual “Night of a Thousand Faces” from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Oct. 27-28 at The New England Wildlife Center, 500 Columbian St., Weymouth. Admission is $8 and all proceeds benefit the New England Wildlife Center, 500 Columbian St. For more information, call 781-682-4878, or go to newildlife.com.

Walk the haunted maze and trick-or-treat trail and meet peacocks, snakes and other creatures at Zoo Howl from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at Franklin Park Zoo, 1 Franklin Park Road, Boston. Learn about animals as they receive pumpkin treats, join costume contests at noon and 2 p.m., and enjoy haunted mazes and games. For more information call 617-541-5466 or go to zoonewengland.org.

ON STAGE SPOOKS

Whether Lizzie Borden really “took an ax and gave her mother 40 whacks, then turned and gave her father 41,” we’ll never know for sure. But what’s certain is that after 125 years, it’s a crime that refuses to go away. Weymouth playwright Steve Dooner takes a whack at the Borden legend in his original play, “ Lizzie of Fall River,” through Oct. 29 at the Company Theater, 30 Accord Park Drive, Norwell, 781-871-2787 or go to companytheatre.com.

Quincy native and professional mentalist Christopher Grace presents “Hysteria: Phobias” at St. Peter’s Church Hall in downtown Salem October through Oct. 31. The month-long show – under the umbrella of the Salem Haunted Magic Show – is a combination of magic, mind reading and bizarre stunts centered on phobias. The audience is treated to cringe-worthy examples of phobias and their meanings. 857-526-6246; info@thesalemmagicshow.com

Dana Barbuto may be reached at dbarbuto@ledger.com. Follow her on Twitter @dbarbuto_Ledger.